Thief of Bagdad, The (1940)
Category:FilmsCategory: /Media | directed by = Ludwig Berger; Michael Powell; Tim Whelan; Alexander Korda; Zoltan Korda; William Cameron Menzies | written by = Miles Malleson; Lajos Biró; Miklós Rózsa | produced by = Alexander Korda; Zoltan Korda; William Cameron Menzies | music by = Miklós Rózsa | cinematography = Georges Perinal | edited by = Charles Crichton | distributed by = London Film Productions United Artists | release date(s) = December 25th, 1940 | mpaa rating = | running time = 106 min. | country = | language = English | budget = | gross revenue = | preceded by = | followed by = }} The Thief of Bagdad is a joint British and American feature film of the adventure and fantasy genres. It is a remake of the 1924 film of the same name. The film was directed by Ludwig Berger, Michael Powell and Tim Whelan with uncredited directorial contributions from Alexander Korda, Zoltan Korda and William Cameron Menzies. It was written by Miles Malleson and Lajos Biró of London Film Productions based on a story treatment by Miklós Rózsa. The film was initially produced by London Film Productions and completed in the United States by United Artists. It premiered in the U.S. on Christmas day, December 25th, 1940. The film stars John Justin as King Ahmad, child actor Sabu as his companion Abu, Conrad Veidt as the antagonist Jaffar and Rex Ingram as the djinn. Plot Wikipedia entry The film's backstory is told in flashback, mimicking the style of the Arabian Nights. Ahmad, the naive King of Bagdad, is convinced by his evil Grand Vizier, Jaffar, to go out into the city disguised as a poor man to get to know his subjects (in the manner of his grandfather Harun al-Rashid). Jaffar then has Ahmad thrown into a dungeon, where he is joined by the young thief Abu, who arranges their escape. They flee to Basra, where Ahmad becomes acquainted with its Princess. However, Jaffar also journeys to Basra, for he desires the Princess. Her father, the Sultan, is fascinated by the magical mechanical flying horse Jaffar offers and agrees to the proposed marriage. Upon hearing the news, the Princess, by now deeply in love with Ahmad, runs away. Confronted by Ahmad, Jaffar magically blinds him and turns Abu into a dog; the spell can only be broken if Jaffar holds the Princess in his arms. The Princess is eventually captured (but not recognized) and sold in the slave market. She is bought secretly by Jaffar and taken to his mansion, but falls into a deep sleep from which he cannot rouse her. Ahmad is tricked by Jaffar's servant Halima into awakening the Princess. Halima then lures the Princess onto Jaffar's ship by telling her that there is a doctor aboard who can cure Ahmad's blindness. The ship immediately sets sail. Jaffar informs the Princess about the spell; she allows herself to be embraced, whereupon Ahmad's sight is restored and Abu is returned to human form. They chase after the ship in a small boat, but Jaffar conjures up a storm to shipwreck them. Abu wakes up alone on a deserted beach and finds a bottle. When he opens it, an enormous Djinn or genie (Rex Ingram) appears. Embittered by his long imprisonment, the genie informs Abu that he is going to kill his rescuer, but Abu tricks him back into the bottle. The genie then offers to grant Abu three wishes if he will let him out again. The hungry boy uses his first wish to ask for sausages. When Abu demands to know where Ahmad is, the genie flies Abu to the top of the highest mountain in the world. On it sits a temple, and in the temple there is an enormous statue with a large jewel, the All-Seeing Eye, set in its forehead. The genie tells Abu that the Eye will show him where to find Ahmad. Abu fights off a giant guardian spider while climbing the statue and steals the gem. and Abu.]] The genie then takes Abu to Ahmad. When Ahmad asks to see the Princess, Abu has him gaze into the All-Seeing Eye. Ahmad despairs when he sees Jaffar arranging for the Princess to inhale the fragrance of the Blue Rose of Forgetfulness, which makes her forget her love. In agony, Ahmad lashes out at Abu for showing him the scene. During the ensuing argument, Abu unthinkingly wishes Ahmad to Bagdad. The genie, freed after granting the last wish, departs, leaving Abu alone in the wilderness. Ahmad appears in Jaffar's castle and is quickly captured, but seeing him restores the Princess's memory. The furious usurper sentences them both to death. Abu, unable to watch his friend's impending doom, shatters the All-Seeing Eye and as a result is transported to the "land of legend", where he is greeted by the Old King (Morton Selten) and thanked for freeing the inhabitants, who had been turned to stone. As a reward, he is given a magic crossbow and is named the king's successor. However, to save Ahmad, Abu steals the king's magic flying carpet and rushes to the rescue. Abu's marvellous aerial arrival in Bagdad (which fulfils a prophecy cited in the course of the story) sparks a revolt against Jaffar. Abu kills the fleeing Jaffar with his crossbow, and Ahmad regains his kingdom and his love. However, when Abu hears (with growing alarm) Ahmad telling the people of his plan to send him to school to train to become his new Grand Vizier, Abu instead flies away on the carpet to find his own fun and adventure. Cast Credited cast Uncredited cast Info taken from the full cast list at :* Does not include cast members with undefined roles. Notes * Thief of Bagdad (1940) and The Thief of Bagdad (1940) redirects to this page. * London Film Productions initially began production on The Thief of Bagdad, but due to the outbreak of World War II, Alexander Korda was unable to continue filming. The movie was completed by United Artists in the United States. * Original studio scenes from the film were shot at Denham Studios in Buckinghamshire, England. Other scenes were filmed at Hollywood Center Studios in Hollywood, California. IMDB; The Thief of Bagdad (1940); Filming locations * Scenes of the canyon were shot at the Grand Canyon in Arizona. IMDB; The Thief of Bagdad (1940); Filming locations * The plot and setting of this film is inspired by the Middle East folk tale One Thousand and One Nights, also known as Arabian Nights. * The Thief of Bagdad was nominated for four awards at the 1941 Academy Awards, winning three . Cinematographer Georges Perinal won for the category of Best Cinematography, Color and Vincent Korda won for Best Art Direction, Color. Lawrence W. Butler accepted the award for Best Effects, Special Effects along with sound engineer Jack Whitney. Miklós Rózsa was nominated for Best Original Score, but did not win. * The Thief of Bagdad was released on home video in DVD format (Region 1) by MGM on December 3rd, 2002. Amazon.com; The Thief of Bagdad (1940); DVD * The Criterion Collection version of The Thief of Bagdad was released as a two-disc set on May 27th, 2008. The DVD includes audio commentary by filmmakers Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese. Wikipedia: The Thief of Bagdad (1940 film); Home Media Fun Facts * The tagline for this film is, "One Thousand and One Sights from One Thousand and One Nights". * The original print advertisement for this film carried the tagline "The most romantic rogue of all time!" * The 1992 animated feature film Aladdin borrows many elements from The Thief of Bagdad including certain character names like Jaffar and Abu. In the Disney version, Jaffar's name is changed to Jafar, and Abu is actually the monkey companion of Aladdin. Recommendations * Aladdin (1992) * Aladdin: The Return of Jafar (1994) * Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996) * Thief of Bagdad, The (1924) External Links * * * * The Thief of Bagdad at Wikipedia * * * References Keywords Abu; Djinn; Dogs; Dungeon; Genie; Grand Vizier; Merchant; Middle East; Princess; Sultan; Thief ---- Category:1940s/Films Category:1940/Films Category:December, 1940/Films Category:Theatrically released films Category:Based on folklore Category:United Artists Category:T/Films Category:Conrad Veidt/Actor Category:John Justin/Actor Category:Sabu/Actor Category:Rex Ingram/Actor